Michael Grass’ Express post about DC tourists not thinking much of our Chinatown starts off with a little link to Livejournaler matheatre’s disappointment at her DC visit last November, owing to the National Museum of American History being closed for renovations till 2008, thus denying her a look at Dorothy’s ruby slippers.

Sadly, she didn’t know about Treasures of American History at the National Air and Space Museum, the backup exhibit filling a spare gallery at NASM. Treasures includes the more popular artifacts from the NMAH collection not currently in storage or out traveling, including, yes, the ruby slippers.

I haven’t been to the exhibit myself, despite my home’s proximity to it, but I really should head down to Air and Space at some point, just to refill my space geek vibe tank.

A footbridge to help pedestrians get to a Metro stop without having to cross the Capital Beltway or its exit ramps sounds like a great idea, right? Silver Spring surely thought so. That is, until the design of the footbridge put pedestrians under the Beltway, in the dark, out of view and out of earshot, and penned in by fences on both sides. Oh, that’s a GREAT idea.

I can’t decide what’s more alarming, that they built a footbridge that has become a magnet for armed robbers, or that they knew the design had these issues in advance and they built the thing anyway. We’re lucky so far that it has only been muggings (and two of them thwarted at that), but I personally don’t expect it to stay like that for long. Way to go, MoCo.

In the meantime, this seems like a good time as any to review a few basic self-defense tips for walking in dark and isolated areas:
- Turn off your portable music player so you can be more aware of your surroundings.
- Carry whatever type of self-defense implement that is legal and that you are confident in your ability to use.
- Ladies, I know we all hate to be the woman in a skirt and sneakers, but consider that high heels impede your ability to run or stay on your feet if you are attacked. Carry the cute shoes to change into, and wear the practical ones.

What is it with those wacky French, eh? I was perusing the goings ons over at Exit 133, the Tacoma blog in the know, when I happened across the following article about the French designing ways to make use of disused and abandoned tram and light rail tracks. Although Georgetown could certainly use a bicycle escalator for all the lazies (like me) who don’t want to bike up the 35th Street hill (I have seen the crazies tackle that sucker), I can’t imagine that the derelict tracks on O and P Streets would necessitate such a device.

Since O and P Streets are pretty heinous to drive down, what kind of device to you see taking advantage of the grating, discarded tracks?

Via exit133, boingboing and hehe.org

There we were, at about six tonight, leaving Fairlington for Courthouse and some delectable steak. Sadly, VDOT was nowhere to be found. The closest thing we saw to a road crew was a single guy with a bucket of salted sand on 31st. St South, trying to help a stranded Metrobus get up the hill.

395? Disaster area. Average speed was approximately 30mph, with significant snow on the road, no sign of a plow or salt truck, and a lot of people skidding around on the exit and entrance ramps.

Rosslyn? Total write-off. Our friends said there were many stuck cars, including another Metrobus stuck at the Wilson/Lynn St area, causing all manner of delay. Again, no salt trucks to be seen, nary a plow or other vehicle.

It wasn’t until coming home through Ballston we saw our first treated road: Glebe Road had some salt treatment. Most of the other roads still had a fine patina of snow and slipperiness. How is it that VDOT and Arlington missed the entirety of the week’s forecasts calling for 1-2″ of snow on Sunday? Seriously guys, did you think they were kidding?

As of 7:15 p.m. EST, just under 2 inches of snow had fallen in Pentagon City. How much snow did you neighborhood get?

I’ve never been to Ocean City, so I’d never been exposed to the idea of custom-topped donuts until the apparently famous Ocean City institution “The Fractured Prune” opened their first DC location in Dupont Circle last month(2153 P St. NW ). I finally had a chance to give em a try on Saturday morning.

The basic idea is that they top donuts the way other stores top ice cream cones. You pick your own toppings and they make you a custom-glazed donut. In a way, this can be quite liberating. However, just like bad Mongolian Barbecue, if you mix up a bad flavor combo, you have only yourself to blame. The decor of the place was none too thrilling, and it does take a while for them to make your donuts. That turned out to be ok, because I ended up talking to some guy who was just waiting for the bar next door to open (can you believe they make you wait until 1pm in the afternoon before they’ll serve you a beer in this town?)

My suggestion to you is to get your toppings in moderation. Out of the six donuts I ate, I found the ones with the least number of toppings to be the best. Also, I’d stay away from their “Prunewich” special, where they’ll cut your donut in half and fill it with with sandwich stuffings (shudder). But if you’re in the area, and the bars haven’t opened yet, consider The Fractured Prune for your donut needs. At least the donuts are made fresh on the premises, unlike some other Dupont Circle donut store I could mention that tricks their customers into thinking the donuts are made onsite by the judicious use of a hot glazing machine.

It’s a freakin’ winter wonderland out there, including traffic tie-ups and my neighbor’s kids sledding down the hilled street we live on. I wish snow helped people have better judgment. We don’t live on a major thoroughfare but we do get our share of traffic. Kids + ice + cars + dusk = no kids. Come on, folks – let’s all be careful, take our time, don’t let the kids play in traffic any more than normal and try not to run over any kids whose idiot parents let them play in traffic. It’s just common courtesy and good common sense.

When my cousin Mike told me about Eamonn’s Dublin Chipper, he did so in the same tone of voice that he uses to vehemently recommend his favorite beer or a great place to catch a pint. Something told me that he was absolutely right about the place, so my friend Jeff and I caught lunch there on Friday. How can I not love a place whose slogan is “Thanks Be To Cod”?

Wow.

Please allow me to repeat that, because it bears repeating: Wow. It was very definitely the best fish & chips I’ve had on this side of the Atlantic, and quite possibly the best fish & chips, period. It’s a tiny little place, so be prepared to do the take-away thing as there are maybe 20 seats in the whole place. The ambience, though, is one of reverence for the product. These are folks who take seriously their craft of making good fish and chips. You can order by the piece, and the fries are not to be missed.

Best of all? It’s open late on the weeknights and weekends, so feel free to go out for a night on the town and then hit it up at midnight when you’re feeling the need for something to offset all the beer. Oh, and the best part? They have deepfried Snickers bars. Thanks be to Eamonn’s!

As I mentioned in my last post, I ventured out during Restaurant Week to two downtown restaurants we’ve never been before. The experience was hit and miss – my first review on Restaurant Kolumbia – was for the miss. Now we come to the hit.

The original plan was to return to Pinzimini for some of their delicious Italian – despite Wayan’s dislike for the bar. But as the weekend approached, the size of our little group swelled from four, to seven, to ten, and we could no longer get a table at the restaurant at a reasonable time (I can’t eat dinner at 9 PM on a Sunday). So, back to OpenTable I went, to search for a new place to dine. Of the few options available, I noticed Grillfish – and for some reason I felt like I had heard about it – but wasn’t sure why. A few clicks later and I was reading through the restaurant’s description:

"Grillfish is a casual, moderately-priced restaurant, specializing in fresh, grilled seafood and deliciously-sauced pasta. The restaurant is dominated by its “signature” oversized, floor-to-ceiling, erotic mural extending the entire wall behind the large stone bar. A definite conversation piece. The bar is ornately decorated with massive mirrors, large columns and a multitude of glowing candles. These, along with the open kitchen where flames leap from the grill, create a warmth and intimacy in a casual atmosphere."

What can I say… They had me at erotic mural…

While parking near the restaurant is a bit of a challenge (there are private garages nearby if you can’t find street parking) once we entered, I had a feeling it was going to be a great dining experience. To accommodate our group, we were seated at a long wooden table right in the middle of the restaurant. The ambience is intimate – and there really is something about the combination of colors in the erotic mural, candles at the bar and table, and the flames from the kitchen that makes you feel like you have the place all to yourself.

Between everyone at dinner, we definitely covered the entire range of options available on the menu. It would take too long to list them all, but the overwhelming consensus was that the food was delicious. I personally had the rockfish (one of the few locally caught fish on the menu) and it was grilled to perfection. Just enough char on the skin to add a bit of crispness to a delightfully moist piece. While some of the side dishes were a little less enjoyable (the sauteed spinach has way too much garlic) overall Grillfish manages to serve great food without pretense or pretension.

Grillfish DC
1200 New Hampshire Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 331-7310

I can count on one hand — and with only two fingers on that hand — the number of times I’ve seen snow downtown this winter, and on no hands how many inches we’ve gotten out of those flakes. Well, that may be about to change, with CapitalWeather’s crystal ball showing a 70% chance of accumulating snow starting tomorrow afternoon into Monday morning. Sure, it might be just an inch, but still: snow! I’ve long held that winter cold is just not worth it if you don’t get at least an inch to make the city look pretty at least once through the season.

This may also mean bread and milk panic shortages, a 70% chance of snowball fights, and a slightly hellish Monday morning commute, especially if the snow turns to frozen rain and tops off the snow layer with a nice sheen of smooth ice. At least you’re not these poor drivers in Portland.

Weather-obsessives like myself can watch the snow approach on the NWS Northeast radar loop.

Update from CapitalWeather: Season’s First Snow to Strike with Light Accumulations. Remember, a 70% chance of snow still means a 30% chance of fizzle, which we’ve seen happen before.

Super Mega Snow Update: OMG SNOW.